Mommy Mourning
by kumasaurus
Summary: It's never easy to lose someone you hold close to your heart. Especially when you're ten years old, and it's your mother that has just passed away. Set years before Skyward Sword. Oneshot. Reviews are very much appreciated.


Kicks off first story with angst? Sure, why not? I haven't written fanfiction in so long, and Skyward Sword has rekindled my interest. Hopefully I'm not as bad as I was then! I own nothing.

* * *

Mommy Mourning

It's never easy to lose someone you hold close to your heart. Especially when you're ten years old, and it's your mother that has just passed away. Zelda's mother, Palila, was suffering from an illness that slowly ate away at her until she finally succumbed to it. To see her mother in a harsh condition was bad enough, but knowing that she's never coming back shattered Zelda's young, fragile heart.

_The young girl ran ahead of her father and reached the house first. "Mommy! I'm home!" Zelda shouted as she entered her front door, dropping her bag to the ground. She kicked off her boots and knelt to the ground, reaching inside her bag to get a minature Loftwing figurine she made in class that day. The child looked at it and smiled, jumping up as she made her way to her mother's room. She opened the door and crept inside, hiding the figurine behind her back. _

"_School was super fun today, Mommy! Today we learned to make arts and crafts and I made the bestest thing out of everyone!" She walked over to the bed where her mom was, and showed the Loftwing model to her. "I'm gonna give it to you because you need a good luck charm. You're gonna get better, I know it! And Feathers over here is gonna make sure of it!" Zelda wagged the figurine in front of her mother's face before setting it on her open palm. Zelda was smiling from ear to ear, waiting to hear what her Palila had to say. _

_Her eyes didn't open. Her hand didn't even react to the figurine she placed. The girl's smile was starting to fade. Even in her condition, Palila was not a heavy sleeper, and normally would have been awakened right when Zelda exclaimed that she was home. Something was wrong. "….Mom..?"_

_Zelda hurriedly climbed onto the bed, and began to shake her mother, trying to wake her up. "Mommy… mom are you ok? Mommy? Mommy! Mommy wake up!" The panic in her voice increased as she continued to get no reaction. Her eyes were beginning to tear up, and her shaking was becoming desperate. The figurine in her mother's hand fell to the ground with a thud because of the movement. Zelda was now on the verge of breaking down, and started to yell. "D-dad! Where are you! Something's wrong! Mom needs help!"_

"_Zelda, what's happening? Is everything alright?" Gaepora asked with concern as he entered the house. He heard Zelda's cries of help, and immediately ran towards the room. He was greeted with the sight of his young daughter sobbing on his peacefully resting wife. "…Oh no... Palila…"_

"_Daddy… get help.. Mommy's going to be fine, right…? Mommy's… Mommy's OK...!" But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, she knew it was too late. While Gaepora left to pick up Zelda from the schoolhouse, Palila finally gave in to her terminal illness and passed away in her sleep. Zelda continued to cry on her mother while Gaepora went to contact the doctors of the terrible news that had just happened._

It's been a week since the incident, and Zelda is still traumatized it. Since then, she's retained an emotionless expression on her face. She didn't talk much either, only nodding and shaking her head to anything that is addressed to her. Everyone was worried about the young lady. Her teacher, her classmates, Gaepora, and her best friend, Link. Even she wouldn't talk to him, the one who she shares everything with. Link later learned that her mother finally died when he and his parents were invited to the funeral.

The villagers were arriving to Skyloft's cemetery, giving their condolences to Gaepora and Zelda. It was the same thing over and over again. "We're so sorry for your loss. We hope the Goddess gives Palila her blessings so she can rest peacefully." Link and his parents finally arrived to the funeral and greeted them.

"Hey Zelda… sorry about your mom," he tried to start. Zelda just nodded, her eyes still blank. Link looked at her with concern. "Hey, hey! Come on Zel! I don't think your mom would like to see you this sad, even for her!"

"I'm not sad," Link was surprised, since this was the first thing that's came out of her mouth for a long while. But even then, her voice was hollow and empty. She wasn't the Zelda she was before, and this saddened Link. "I'll… I'll be back. Tell my dad that I went to the bathroom... or don't. I don't really care." She walked pass Link and he looked over to see where she was headed. Her timid little walk suddenly turned into a sprint. He didn't want to lose her. Link knew that Zelda was probably going to try to avoid watching the funeral. He looked up to see that his parents were talking to Gaepora still. Link took this opportunity to follow wherever Zelda was going.

Link followed Zelda all the way to a bench near the waterfall. He saw from a distance that she was sitting on it, her head drooping. Man she's fast, he couldn't help but think. But Link was relieved that she didn't go any farther, and started to run toward the bench. "Zelda!" He called out, and saw that she looked up, but immediately tried to avert her eyes. He caught up to her in no time.

That's when he saw it. Zelda's eyes were red and puffy, and they were wet with tears. Her cheeks were also very damp, and her nose was bright pink and dripping with snot. She sniffled and wiped her face with the sleeves of her dress, and coughed a few times to clear her throat. "You… you followed me."

"Of course I did, I've been worried about you," Link said simply. He cracked a small smile, hoping to brighten her mood, but to no avail. "Not sad, eh?"

"I-I'm sorry you had to see me like this, Link," she choked on a sob. Link shrugged and sat down on the space next to her. "I'm sorry, I haven't been myself since… since…"

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to," Link lightly pinched her cheek, causing her to chuckle a bit. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"No… no I want to tell you. You deserve to know, you're my best friend," she started out. She took a deep, but shaky breath, and exhaled. "It's just… I wasn't expecting Mommy to go so soon. I came home and I was gonna give her the Loftwing we made in class that one day as a get better gift… But I guess I gave it to her too late." A tear rolled down her face, but Link caught it with his finger and wiped it away.

"You made the prettiest statue, your mom would've loved it if she got to see it," Link tried to console her. Zelda sniffled and looked at Link, and cracked a smile.

"Yeah, haha… I did make the best after all,"

"I was obviously second best though," Link quickly said. Zelda giggled at his remark. Link saw an opening and took a chance. "Everyone's was better than Groose's though! Did you see it? It didn't even look like a Loftwing, it looked more like Remlit's poo!" he said as he pinched his nose close and made a fanning motion. Link and Zelda burst into laughter at the joke, despite the fact that there were still some sad tears falling from her eyes.

When her laughter calmed down, she wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Zelda looked to Link, who was smiling tenderly at her. She smiled back, then rested her head on his shoulder and hugged his arm. "I don't want to go to the funeral, Link. I don't want to see my mom go away forever." Her voice wasn't empty anymore. It was just filled with sadness. Link freed his arm from the hug and wrapped it around her and proceeded to rest his head on hers.

"I can't say I know how you feel, Zelda. But she's your mom. You have to go. I know it's gonna hurt seeing your mom get buried, but it's the right thing to do," He soothed her by rubbing her shoulder. "She would do the same for you."

Zelda started tearing up again and wiped her face on Link's dress shirt. He didn't mind. If it meant helping his best friend, Link could afford a shirt with a wet sleeve. Zelda sighed and hugged Link closely. She began to whisper. "Thank you, Link. You're the best friend in the whole world."

Link smiled and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You don't have to give me that. Even if it is true," Zelda giggled. It was nice to hear his best friend laugh again. "Hey, we've been gone for a long while now. Your dad probably doesn't want to start the funeral without you. We should get going," Link removed his arm from around her and hopped down the bench. He held his hand out to help Zelda down. "You ready?"

Zelda was hesitant, but accepted the hand. He helped her off the bench and she nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go."

The two children walked back to the cemetery hand in hand.

* * *

And there we go. Palila is a type of bird, and it's also a girl's name. A very pretty sounding name too. I hope it would be fitting for someone like Zelda's mother. I apologize if I'm not good at accurately representing "lost relative angst." Reviews are appreciated!


End file.
